Roundabout or pleasure-railway.



PATENTED MAY19,1903.

J. M. TAYLOR.. ROUNDABOUT 0R PLEASURE RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18. 1903.

no long we ncmus PETERS co. mom-Luna. WASHINGTON. 0 c. v

iatentecl May 19, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMESQM. TAYLOR, on OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

ROUNDABOUT OR- PLEASURE-RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 728,514, dated May 19, 1903.

Application filed March 18, 1903.

To all whom timer/y concern.-

Beit known that I, JAMES M.TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented new and useful Improvements in Roundabo'uts or Carousels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention rel-ates to certain new and useful improvements in roundabouts, carousels, or pleasure-railways, the object of the invention being to provide a device which is adapted to turn upon supports arranged concentric to a common center, the rotating frame being actuated by a suitable motor, means being provided for imparting to the frame a Wavy motion, as well as means for suddenly arresting the movement of the frame.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one embodiment of myinvention, and therein- I Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a passenger-carrying frame one-half of which has been removed, the viewbeing somewhat in the nature of a transverse section. Fig. 2 is a plan View of one-half of the roundabout, part of the frame being removed to better illustrate other parts. Fig, 3 is a detail view of a jointed rack-bar which is attached to the under side of the movable frame. Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the segmental and jointed sill-pieces of the revolving frame, and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of one of the segmental pieces shown in Fig. 4 with a cross-piece hinged thereto. I

In the construction of a roundabout, carousel, or pleasurerailway in accord with my invention I usually erect a center pole 6 as a support for an awning or tent, and about the center pole to provide a foundation are placed radiating sill-pieces 7, to which are secured roller-supportin g frames 8, between the uprights of the frames 8 there being journaled rollers9, said frames and rollers being arranged in pairs of the same size, which alternate with similar frames and rollers of a differe'nt size.

A suitable motor 10, preferably of the electric type, has its driven shaft 11 supported by suitable bearings, and between the bearings the shaft carries a gear-wheel 12'for engagement with a circular rack-bar made up of seg- 1nentalsections,which are hinged to each other Serial No. 148,325. (No model.) I

i and are attached to the under side of the rehavean effective brake'or clutch mechanism for separating the shaft from the motor, which will also efiect an immediate and sudden stoppage of the revolving frame.

In the make-up of the revolving frame I provide radiating bars 13 with mortises 14 to receive tenons on the lower ends of diverging bars 15, which are made fast to the bars 13, and provide therewith a plurality of frames which are Wider at the top than at the bottom. The frames are connected to each other by jointed tracks 16, which are curved longitudinally to correspond with the diameter of the structure, the joints or hinges 17 of these tracks being in close proximity to the edge of the cross-bars 13, and the hinges may have leaves for attaching the segmental sections of the track and the rack-bar to the cross-bars 13. Between the jointed tracks, to the under side of the bars, are attached jointed rack-bars 18, the depending teeth ongaging a cog-wheel 12, attached to the shaft, which is driven by the motor. The upper ends of the inner and outer series of upwardly-diverging bars 15 are provided with cables, springs, or other connecting means 19,

attached thereto by. being laced or otherwise fastened to the inner sides of the upper ends of the bars,'the connecting means being covered by flexible material and padded where desired. The inner sides of the bars 15 and the connecting means therefor have attached,

so as to extend downward, pieces of fabric 20, such as Woven wire, canvas, carpet, or other flexible material, which are attached to the diverging bars by springs 21 or equivalent connecting means. The lower edges of each section of the fabric covering 20 are attached to segmental frames or mattresses 22, the lower sections thereof beingconstructed to rest upon the upper edges of the diverging bars 13 or upon supplemental frames 23, carried by the diverging bars 15, and where there are longitudinal bars 24 the ends may be pivoted to the uprights. By the construction shown when the connected frames are rotated they are given an undulatory motion, the

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rack-bars and tracks giving to the difierentsized rollers with which the tracks engage. One or more of the sections may be made so that the fabric and connecting means can be partially detached to provide an entrance to the space between the diverging bars.

When this roundabout or carousel is used, the riders are supposed to stand upon the spring supporting frame or bottom and while the frame is in motion take rings or other objects from a support either by hand or by the use of a wand. This is rendered difficult by the irregular motions given to the frames, and a person will find it hard to maintain his equilibrium when rapid motion isgiven to the frame, especially when the speed thereof is varied and sudden stoppages are effected. The frames being padded and having spring-bottoms, in case ofa fall the rider will not be injured.

The device hereinbefore described may be provided with numerous accessories, as figures, seats, hand-holes, &c., such as are usual in pleasure-railways, roundabouts, or carousels.

Having thus described my invention, I do not wish to be limited -to the precise construction and arrangement shown, as it is obvious that the same may be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim- 1. In combination with a circular series of rollers the upper surfaces thereof being maintained on different horizontal planes, of frames movably connected to each other, jointed tracks attached to the under sides of the frames, and means for rotating the connected frames, substantially as shown.

2. In combination with a series of circularly-arranged and flexibly-connected frames, jointed tracks attached to the under side of the frames, rollers for engagement with the tracks the rollers being arranged in circular series and on difierent horizontal planes, jointed rack-bars attached to the frame between the tracks, and a driven gear-Wheel for engagement with the rack-bars, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES M. TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

CHAS. BATTELLE, THos. H. MOCAGUE. 

